WhatsApp’s new group features [Only admins can send] are rolling out to everyone

Early this month, WhatsApp added some new features to WhatsApp group conversations in its beta Android version. Those features and many other amazing ones are still coming out everyday, and they include expanded admin controls, group catch-up, and participant search.

According to WhatsApp’s blog post, the inclusion of a group description field is also new, but as far as we know, that’s been around for quite a while (at least 8 months). It may have been part of an A/B test before, but either way, that’s now official too.

The New Features Outlined By WhatsApp Are As Follows:

Admin controls – Those with admin rights can now decide whether those without them are able to change the subject, icon, and description of the group. Moreover, admins can remove admin permission from others (without removing them from the group) and group creators are now immune to being ejected.

Catch-up – When you return to a group chat with a fair few messages, a new @ button floating in the bottom right corner (above image) will show you any mentions or replies so you don’t need to sift through everything to get to something important.

Participant search – On the group info screen, there is now a search function — handy for groups with a large number of members (below image).

Groups can now be set up in which ‘Only admins’ can send messages

WhatsApp’s focus on improving its increasingly popular group chats is continuing with a new feature that allows a group to be created that only certain people can send messages in. Once set up, group administrators can toggle a setting so that they are the only ones who can post. To do this, head to “Group Settings” on the “Group Info” screen and select “Send Messages.”

Change the setting from “All participants” to “Only admins” and no regular members will have the ability to spam the group anymore. This will be particularly useful for those who use groups to inform friends of events or for institutions like schools that make announcements in this way.